*** Author's Note: Hi again! Thank you so much to everyone leaving reviews and following, it's honestly way more than I ever expected. I know my updates take a while but at least this one was only several weeks instead of several months, eh? I have an outline for Chapter 4 set out but I haven't started writing it yet so no promises as to when that will be updated... I'M SO SORRY HONESTLY GRAD SCHOOL IS 24/7 THIS SEMESTER.
As usual, I don't own any of the characters in Fairy Tail, or any of the movies/characters in the movies mentioned in this chapter.
THREE
Natsu and his cat continued to come over every night after that first Monday movie night. On Tuesday, Natsu brought 'Backdraft' for us to watch.
"What are you some kind of pyro?" I asked jokingly. Ignoring my comment, Natsu instead made a beeline for my fridge.
"Whaddya got to eat around here Luce? I'm starving!"
I walked over to the fridge as calmly as possible before not so calmly shoving Natsu away from the appliance.
"I have plenty to eat. You on the other hand won't have anything unless you stop barging into my place and eating me out of house and home. The least you could do is ask politely," I added with a grumble.
"OH excuuuuuuse me," Natsu said dramatically, "Ma'am if it wouldn't be too much trouble, might I perhaps partake in some of the delightful cuisine that is available in your lovely home?" He even added in a clumsy little bow that I tried not to chuckle at. Of course, Happy chose this moment to join us in the kitchen and let out the loudest yowl that had ever come out of the small creature.
"FINE I GET IT. You're both STARVING and clearly I have no choice but to feed you two idiots. You two are going to eat me out of house and home at this rate you know." I rummaged around my fridge and freezer for something I could fix up more quickly and found a slightly frostbitten but unopened bag of fried rice and decided on that. While I heated up some oil in a pan for the rice, I searched for one of the remaining cans of tuna in my pantry for Happy. Eventually, rice cooked and fish dished up for Happy, I set two bowls down on the table for Natsu and myself. Natsu, unsurprisingly, started eating immediately without so much as a thank you, but made a face after the first bite.
"Ya' got any hot sauce Luce?"
I gave him a look that was a mix of frustration and utter disbelief, but none the less got up to get some hot sauce from the fridge. I slammed it down on the table a little too forcefully but the oblivious boy didn't seem to notice, and instead happily poured about half of the bottle onto his fried rice. Grimacing at the Natsu's taste in seasoning, I decided it was time to learn more about the strange boy sitting across from me.
"So what do you do anyways? You seem to always have time to come over here and bother me," I teased.
"I'm a special effects guy at live events. I set up flamethrowers and fireworks for concerts and stuff." Natsu had a dreamy grin on his face as he explained his job details.
"OH MY GOD YOU ARE A PYRO I KNEW IT!" Suddenly, everything about the boy made sense, especially his wild hair color choices.
"What? Because of my job?"
"Well, yeah, that. And the obsession with fire breathing dragons and any movie involving explosions and fire. Oh my god you are SO not allowed anywhere near my oven or stove anymore. And I'm going to have to start hiding my candles," I said, laughing. Natsu gave me an offended look.
"Whatever. What exactly do you do? Sit around all day plotting ways to steal people's cats?"
I crossed my arms defensively, "No. For your information I work for a very important publisher, doing critical work for the company, making sure everything runs smoothly and everyone has everything they need," I huffed.
"So you're an assistant?"
I gave the flame-head what I hoped was my best death glare. "Maybe. But I also write things."
"Ah, cool, what kind of things?" His eyes brightened.
"I'm… working on a novel. It's a fantasy."
"ARE THERE DRAGONS?" Natsu asked, practically drooling. That boy with his dragons and fire, I thought.
"CAN I READ IT?"
"Well…" I was about to make some lame excuse about needing to make edits, so I wouldn't have to admit how little progress I had actually made, or that I didn't really want anyone reading it anyways, when a loud yelp came from my work area. Both Natsu and I looked over at the source of the noise, which of course, was Happy, falling off my desk and taking the majority of the finished pages of my novel off of the desk with him.
"Is that it?"
"NO!" I shouted a bit too vehemently as I rushed over to pick up the scattered paper, and to block Natsu from picking any of it up himself.
"Jeez, alright I won't read it. Although if you want to be a writer you're probably going to have to let someone read your stuff at some point." I could hear the hurt tone in his voice but honestly, I was nowhere near ready to start sharing my work with anyone. Much less someone I had known less than a week. As I gathered up the scattered pages, and stuffed it away in a cabinet where prying eyes couldn't try to read it, I heard more shuffling coming from my desk.
"Who's this?"
I swear, that insufferable, inquisitive boy and his cat will be the death of me, I thought to myself. Bracing myself and preparing for the newest breach into my private life, I turned around to see Natsu holding a photo frame that sat near my computer. It held an old photograph of my parents and myself when I was younger, and my mother was still alive. When I had first moved in, it was to remind me of happier times in a period when I had been feeling alone and as though nothing was going to get better. Even my father was smiling lovingly at my mother and I. Honestly, I hadn't thought about the photo in such a long time; it had just gotten pushed farther and farther back until it was almost behind the clutter on my desk, but seeing it again brought back a flood of memories, good and bad, leading up to my leaving the Heartfilia household, causing me to tear up a bit.
Natsu face became simultaneously terrified and sympathetic. He obviously felt bad for bringing up the photo but didn't want to see someone crying in front of him.
"NEVERMIND, NEVERMIND… HOW 'BOUT THAT MOVIE EH?"
"No. No, it's alright Natsu, I'm sorry," I said wiping the mist from my eyes. "It's just I haven't looked at that picture in a while and it's reminded me of some things."
"Is it your family?"
"Yeah. Or what was my family. My mom died when I was pretty young and my dad… Well just let's say my dad and I haven't spoken in a while and leave it at that." I gave him a sad smile before shifting moods. I barely knew the boy, there was no need to drag him into all of my past family drama. "Now what were you saying about a movie? And fire?"
"Alright, I'm all fired up now!" He shouted, pumping a fist in the air. I settled into the couch while Natsu got the movie ready. As the main credits rolled over the screen, I looked over at the pink-haired boy. He had the biggest smile on his face, and was leaning on the edge of his seat waiting for the action to start. I couldn't help but smile along with him. The boy's enthusiastic nature was certainly infectious.
On Wednesday, I had dinner ready and set on the table before Natsu could even attempt to burst through the door (or window for that matter).
"Wow Luce, this looks amazing!"
"Thanks! I made it extra spicy, so I doubt even you…" I paused as I saw Natsu race to the kitchen to grab the hot sauce and dump an absurd amount on top of the dish before sitting down and taking a bite.
"Ahhh, that's the stuff," he said with a satisfied look on his face. This boy had a spice tolerance like no one else on earth. With what I am sure was a slightly shocked look, I sat down and started eating my own meal.
"So. No Happy tonight?"
With his mouth stuffed full of food, he replied, "Nah, he didn't want to move from the window today. I figured I let him be." He shrugged, "You know how cats are. Can't make 'em do anything they don't want to."
We ate primarily in silence until the end of the meal, largely because Natsu was too busy filling his mouth with food. As he finished off his last bites though, he got a troubled look on his face.
"Hey Luce?"
"Yeah?"
"I know you don't really want to talk about your dad or your family, but if you ever do I just wanted you to know you could talk to me. And that… If it makes you feel any better, I don't have the best family relationships either. I mean my dad just up and left when I was a kid, so you could say we haven't exactly spoken in a while either." He gave me a hesitant, lopsided smile as he waited for my reply. My eyes started to tear up again, fairly certain that Natsu wasn't sure how much that meant to me, and touched by how genuinely kind this strange boy was being to me despite how little time we had known each other.
"Ah man I'm sorry, did I say something wrong Luce? I didn't mean to make you cry, whatever I said I'm so sorry!"
"No, you big dummy, that was really sweet," I said smiling him. Soon he smiled back.
We spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know one another better. Eventually though, Natsu had to head home. For once, both of us had to work early in the morning. Before he walked out the door, I gave Natsu a big hug.
"I'm glad your stupid cat decided to crash at my place all of those times. And I'm glad you never keep the cat door locked"
"Yeah, me too," he said. Suddenly he jerked away from the hug, "BUT HEY, HAPPY IS NOT STUPID. AND HAVEN'T WE BEEN OVER THE DOOR THING?"
He continued to shout as he walked away from my apartment door.
"See you later you flame-brain."
"Yeah. Bye to you too, you weirdo."
I smiled as I shut the door, and the grin didn't leave my face until after I had fallen asleep that night.
Thursday morning I when I went into work, a familiar, blue haired woman was sitting on my desk, waiting for me with a cup of coffee.
"I brought you a latte, I figured you might need a caffeine boost for today," she said with a smile.
"Thanks Levy! Why would I need the extra caffeine boost though?"
"Did you forget? Today is the day we have to finish up edits on all of the books we've been reviewing lately and send out all of the notices to the authors. You know how so many of the people are around here, leaving all of this stuff until last minute. Which basically means that everyone now has to work together to finish everything up on time."
I had heard about these so called 'Hell Days', but as I was still relatively new, I hadn't experienced one first hand yet. Suddenly very thankful for the caffeine Levy had provided, I knew I was going to be running around a lot to help everyone in the office all day.
"Thanks Levy," I said, taking a sip of the hot beverage, "You're too nice."
"No worries. Consider it an upfront payment for the excess work you'll have to be doing today." She winked as she hopped off my desk and walked back towards her own, "But don't worry, I know you're going to do great!"
The next eight hours were long and arduous. Besides running around, getting signatures, making deliveries, and getting coffee for everyone, I actually had to help with the reading of a few manuscripts as well. Some had real potential and I gave what I hoped were good suggestions and remarks to those before handing them off to a senior editor for final review. Others were definitely not going to cut it, and with regret I gave my recommendations for dismissal of those. The hardest part was writing the actual rejection letters to some of the authors. It certainly didn't help how I felt about showing anyone my own work, knowing I could get a reaction like the ones I was sending out. The strangest part of the day was that I'd occasionally catch Erza watching me from her office, or as she passed on the way to somewhere else in the office. She never spoke to me, other than instructions for my next task, so I never found out why she kept watching me the way she did, but eventually the work day was over and the office had finally finished the edits and notices. Some people went out to celebrate the end of the nightmarish day but deciding I was too exhausted to do any celebrating, I started to make my trek back home instead.
When I finally walked through the door to my apartment, I just about collapsed on the floor inside. Barely making it to the couch, I realized I wouldn't have to cook for two tonight at least, since Natsu was going to be at his work gig late into the evening. Making dinner for one was a strange feeling, especially upon realizing how quickly it felt normal to have another person eating with me. Although it was certainly calmer without Natsu here, I definitely missed having him around. He was quickly becoming one of my best friends here in Magnolia and I hadn't even known him a week yet.
I finished eating fairly quickly, and as I got up from my chair to put away the dishes from dinner and get ready for bed, I heard a faint scratching noise at the door. Smirking, I opened the door to let my new, oddly colored feline friend in.
"Hey Happy, did you get lonely without Natsu around tonight?"
The cat didn't reply, but instead just stared up at me briefly before moving to the living room and proceeding to plop down and give himself a bath. I rolled my eyes and set up some food, water, and his litter box. In what was quickly becoming our usual routine, Happy wound his way around my feet while I got dressed for bed and went through my nighttime rituals, until I got into bed and he was able to jump up next to me so I could pet him. I ended up falling asleep curled around the gently purring feline, thinking of how grateful I was to have Happy and his owner in my life now.
I woke up slowly in the morning, in the place between dreaming and consciousness. I knew it was cold outside in the apartment (goddamn heating bills are so high with all of the cold weather) so I was reluctant to leave my bed, which felt especially warm this morning. I stretched out, preparing myself mentally for the cool air that was about to assault my body, when I felt something else in the bed. Something that was definitely not small and furry. I froze mid-stretch and turned to see a (thankfully) fully clothed, pink haired boy lying next to me.
"WHAT THE FUCK NATSU?"
Natsu opened his eyes and gave me a groggy and confused look.
"Heh?"
"WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK. HOW IN GOD'S NAME DID YOU EVEN FUCKING GET INTO MY FUCKING HOUSE YOU ASS AND WHY ARE YOU IN MY BED?"
Natsu sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Ahh, I'm sorry Luce," he started.
"I DON'T WANT APOLOGIES I WANT AN EXPLANATION." I had a sudden realization as I yelled at him, "OH my GOD." I ran over to the living room window to find it, unsurprisingly, open with the screen on the floor. Again. "NATSU I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU."
Natsu sheepishly shuffled into the living room, hand rubbing the back of his neck, "I know Lucy, I'm sorry. I know I promised not to break in like that again but when I got back from my gig and couldn't find Happy, I knew he'd be here. But it was like, two in the morning at that point and…"
"AND YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL MORNING LIKE A REASONABLE PERSON?"
"I maaaaaay, have had a little alcohol in my system at the time to mess with my judgement."
All I could do was stare at him, fuming. Eventually I calmed down just enough to grunt at him and point towards the open window and removed window screen. Seeming to understand my speechless command, Natsu started putting my window back together. I gave a slight huff as I calmed down further.
"I suppose that explains why you chose to stay the night AND crawl into my bed instead of at least staying on the couch."
"Yeah… Sorry about that one too. It's just… opening the window made it soooo cold. And Happy was with you… and your bed looked super comfy and warm. And like I told you…"
"Yeah yeah, you had something to drink while you were at work, I heard," I rolled my eyes, "You still don't just crawl into bed with someone you've only known a short amount of time. ESPECIALLY if they aren't aware that you're doing it." I glared at him and would have continued to do so, if it hadn't been the look of pure remorse on his face when he turned back around after putting my window back together.
"Listen, it's just. I don't normally wake up to extra people in my bed, I mean you can see how that would freak a girl out right?"
He brightened a bit when he noticed I had started to calm down, "Yeah, but I'm not some weirdo or anything, you wouldn't have to worry about me!"
"Yeah… Not so sure about the 'not being a weirdo' part of that. Just… Don't surprise me like that again. Or at least take the couch. I don't like having a heart attack first thing in the morning."
"Sure thing Luce!" He said with a giant grin. I still wasn't so sure he'd follow my instructions but as always his infectious attitude left me smiling as well. I left for work that morning, after a prolonged search for Happy and a quick goodbye to the two of them, questioning my sanity a bit for becoming friends the abnormal boy and his ill-behaved cat.